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My roommate told me something interesting on the other day. I felt that I should share it.
If you played D2:LoD seriously before (especially if you played post-1.10), I am sure you know about a Unique Paladin-only Shield: Herald of Zakarum. In case you forgot what it is, click on the spoiler tag.
+ Show Spoiler +Herald Of Zakarum
Gilded Shield
Defense: 422-507 (varies)(Base Defense: 144-168)
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 89
Durability: 50
Chance To Block: 82%
Smite Damage: 20 To 28
(Paladin Only)
+150-200% Enhanced Defense (varies)
30% Increased Chance Of Blocking
30% Faster Block Rate
20% Bonus To Attack Rating
+20 To Strength
+20 To Vitality
All Resistances +50
+2 To Paladin Skill Levels
+2 To Combat Skills (Paladin Only)
(Only Spawns In Patch 1.09 or later) It's one of the best shields for a Paladin (although you may argue Sanctuary or Stormshield are just as good, or even better than Herald of Zakarum, that's not the point here); it has +4 combat skills (godly on a hammerdin), +50 resist (godly anywhere), and +40 stats. The only flaw it has is that it has no damage reduction.
The question is not so much about how the item works in game, but why it is named this way.
First of all, without going into it too deeply, Zakarum is a holy order in the world of Diablo and it is naturally associated with Paladins. The problem is what does 'herald' mean here. I always thought a herald is a seer or someone that predicts or foreshadows future events, but after checking the dictionary I realized there are actually quite a few meanings to it.
- (formerly) a royal or official messenger, esp. one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime.
- a person or thing that precedes or comes before; forerunner; harbinger: the returning swallows, those heralds of spring.
- a person or thing that proclaims or announces: A good newspaper should be a herald of truth.
- (in the Middle Ages) an officer who arranged tournaments and other functions, announced challenges, marshaled combatants, etc., and who was later employed also to arrange processions, funerals, etc., and to regulate the use of armorial bearings.
So what do you think? Right now I am leaning toward 1: a royal or official messenger.
Poll: What does 'herald' mean, in this context?1: a royal or official messenger (26) 54% 3: a person or thing that proclaims or announces (14) 29% 2: a person or thing that precedes or comes before (7) 15% 4: an officer who arranged tournaments and other functions (1) 2% 48 total votes Your vote: What does 'herald' mean, in this context? (Vote): 1: a royal or official messenger
(Vote): 2: a person or thing that precedes or comes before
(Vote): 3: a person or thing that proclaims or announces
(Vote): 4: an officer who arranged tournaments and other functions
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It's a shield that is carried by Holy Warriors into evil places, representing the power of the Order of Zakarum.
Thus it's a bit of 1 and 3, as the bearer technically embodies the power of Zakarum, and also proclaims the arrival of the might of the Order.
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The first one sounds most correct in this instance. "... one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime." sounds befitting since the word is used on a shield.
Oh and that reminds me, I have to give away my future firstborn because my friend got me a very high ED ethereal version of this shield. 
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On October 22 2010 03:27 Equinox_kr wrote:The first one sounds most correct in this instance. "... one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime." sounds befitting since the word is used on a shield. Oh and that reminds me, I have to give away my future firstborn because my friend got me a very high ED ethereal version of this shield.
These are worth children?
I just let a HC HoZ expire on a mule, I think.
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On October 22 2010 03:34 Dfgj wrote:Show nested quote +On October 22 2010 03:27 Equinox_kr wrote:The first one sounds most correct in this instance. "... one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime." sounds befitting since the word is used on a shield. Oh and that reminds me, I have to give away my future firstborn because my friend got me a very high ED ethereal version of this shield. These are worth children? I just let a HC HoZ expire on a mule, I think.
high ed ethereal HoZ on HC ladder is worth 100-200fg.
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a herald can simply be something that "announces" something else. So, transferred to the context of a shield, you could probably interpret it as "if you see this shield, you know whats coming!" so the shield announces its legendary well known bearer since its a unique shield that no one else carries or something like that. Hence, you could call it a herald.
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I always though it meant that the paladin wielding it will become the messenger of the order, spreading the light...
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i always thought of it as 'zakarum's coming bitches, hide the children, lock up yo wives, he's pking everybody out here'
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On October 22 2010 03:27 Equinox_kr wrote:The first one sounds most correct in this instance. "... one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime." sounds befitting since the word is used on a shield. Oh and that reminds me, I have to give away my future firstborn because my friend got me a very high ED ethereal version of this shield.
your gf rules
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I think the second meaning is right - Herald just sounds better than Vanguard, with the meaning being "the front line of", or rephrased "the one who comes before (the rest)".
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Hyrule19200 Posts
It's a shield (aka thing). It goes in front of the player (ie: precedes) to block stuff. Seems pretty logical that its #2.
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All those descriptions are closely related, but yes herald is typically some sort of announcer or messenger from a greater source.
Example: Trumpeters announcing the arrival of a royal
Example2: Christmas song "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" regarding the birth of Jesus.
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Someone who brings the wraith of Zakarum either in hammer or smite form.
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The definition you thought of really isn't very related to the word, "herald". All of the definitions you posted are related to each other and vary really only in the slightest context. The third definition you wrote is probably the single best definition.
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Hungary11305 Posts
I think you are making the (wrong) assumption that it needs to have a literal meaning.
Consider a famous sword, named "Andúril", which is translated as "Flame of the West". Now you could make a poll and ask what "Flame" means in this context, since it's obviously a Sword and not a Flame.
However, the name is most likely a metaphor. Wikipedia is quite useful on this one, saying Metaphor is the concept of understanding one thing in terms of another. Now, what you should be looking for are attributes of a Herald that could rightfully be attributed to a Shield, not what literal meaning "Herald" has in this case.
A shield can have nearly all the attributes you used in your definitions, that's why it's a good metaphor to use. A shield carries the coat-of-arms of royalty (df1), it is carried in front of you and possibly the first thing an enemy sees (df2), it announces who you are (df3).
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On October 22 2010 07:46 Aesop wrote:
I think you are making the (wrong) assumption that it needs to have a literal meaning.
Consider a famous sword, named "Andúril", which is translated as "Flame of the West". Now you could make a poll and ask what "Flame" means in this context, since it's obviously a Sword and not a Flame.
However, the name is most likely a metaphor. Wikipedia is quite useful on this one, saying Metaphor is the concept of understanding one thing in terms of another. Now, what you should be looking for are attributes of a Herald that could rightfully be attributed to a Shield, not what literal meaning "Herald" has in this case.
A shield can have nearly all the attributes you used in your definitions, that's why it's a good metaphor to use. A shield carries the coat-of-arms of royalty (df1), it is carried in front of you and possibly the first thing an enemy sees (df2), it announces who you are (df3).
I think you have a really good point. Mmmm.....
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EPT
